I screwed up

1406 Views 12 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Workman, Mar 27, 2013

Workman

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2013

My brother and i took my hood off to repaint it. Easy enough
. And while we were there with the hood off i said well we can take the valve covers off and fix that little tick. So we take off the valve covers and he ask, well y not buy some cool chrome ones? I say sure y not!?
So anyways i get in my stepdads honda to drive and yell to my bro to put the tarp over the motor so no dirt or any of his cats jumps in it. Well apparently he didnt hear me and when were at advance it starts raining. HARD.
I get back to the car and yup. Valve covers are off rain is puddling up on the heads running off like waterfalls on my manifolds, i grabbed the tarp and threw it over my drowning motor and grab my wrench set and immediately remove the oil drain plug, and oil filter. Water was everywhere......
So i put some old oil i had from a previous oil change in it After cleaning the water off the heads then i drained it immediately without starting it. I then added some fresh oil,
Turned the key a few times to get the starter to turn it over easy and then drained it.
Then i went back to advance got some new oil and an oil filter and threw them on.
I drained a little bit to see if any water is in the oil and no it looks pretty good.
So i start it up. Cranks fine idles beautifully. I carefully let it idle for maybe 5 minutes theb drained the oil and oil filter. There was some water in it when i changed it but hardly any.
So i put the valve covers back on and cranked it up. Runs good. I drove it for the rest of the afternoon and this morning once again fires right up no problem. No sign of water in the pistons no smoke, very smooth idle.
Im thinking change the oil one more time maybe even take off the oil pan and clean it.
Am i screwed or think ill b okay?

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Racy Roadmaster

· #2 · Mar 24, 2013

no need to take the oil pan off, if you want to,put a couple hundred miles on the motor and change the oil and filter again.You should be fine.
My dad told me something once that still rings in my ears," If you want something done right, then do it yourself " that pertains to the tarp over the engine just in case you didnt get it. good luck, ed

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Workman

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 24, 2013

Yea lol i got it haha! Thanks man

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cocobolo95

· #4 · Mar 24, 2013

Since water is part of the byproducts of combustion, some water gets into the oil all the time, especially people who drive a lot of short trips. When your oil temp goes up to where water boils, the water leaves the oil.

So a little water left in won't hurt, it's when you have lots of water mixed with the oil that bad things happen.

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Workman

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 24, 2013

Coco, you are a genius!

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sweetbmxrider

· #6 · Mar 25, 2013

The water will sit on the bottom of the pan and the oil will sit above it. So long as there isn't enough to reach the pickup, you'll be fine. Honestly, I think you are good now. Did you get valve covers notched for the alternator?

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lt1beaster

· #7 · Mar 25, 2013

the water wouldn't of had enough time to oxidize the metal. and as long as you got most the water out it should be fine. as long as it doesn't get into the pistons in a large amount or driving long distances with it in the oil you should be good.

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Workman

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 26, 2013

@ sweet bmx rider, i didnt get the valve covers lol ive heard of some oil gunking up on chrome ones so i said forget that haha.

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Workman

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 26, 2013

@ lt1 beaster ya i was thinking the same thing. I emptied my oil today and there wasnt really anything in it so i added a fresh qt and put 4 qts of it back in.
Ive been told 4 1/2 qts are what these require but for the past 12k miles its been gettin 5. And still runs great. Just saw a small increase in oil pressure like 1-2 pounds. And i feel better abt it bcuz i constantly hear these lt1s starve for oil.
But ill change my oil again in 500 miles and forget this ever happened.
Unless some dumb dumb says "show me the car fax!"
Then i gotta say minor flood damage to the engine compartment but nothing major. -.-

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Car nut

· #10 · Mar 26, 2013

It was a combination of your welll done oil changes and being lucky lol.

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steveo

· #11 · Mar 26, 2013

a bit fresh water wont hurt an engine too badly. take it from me, i work in the boat business; when a boat engine has been submerged in salt water, we promptly re-submerge it in fresh water for several days to save the engine

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sweetbmxrider

· #12 · Mar 27, 2013

Workman said:
@ sweet bmx rider, i didnt get the valve covers lol ive heard of some oil gunking up on chrome ones so i said forget that haha.

If you decide to get some, you will have to get ones that are notched on the passenger side to clear the alternator. :thumbsup:

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Workman

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 27, 2013

@ car nut lol yea!
@ steveo that's how u know so much abt engines !!!!!!
@ sweet bmx rider thanks for the heads up, it's highly appreciated

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